Bahamas secure second round spot in NORCECA World Championship qualifiers

A good crowd showed up at the International School Gym of Willemstad to watch the action of the NORCECA Group A Tournament

Willemstad, Curacao, December 1, 2012 – The Bahamas lead Group A of the NORCECA men’s First-Round Tournament for the 2014 FIVB World Championship in Poland with two victories and no losses after Saturday’s action at the International School of Curacao in Willemstad.

Bahamas scored wins over Jamaica and Curacao and is the only team of the four playing in Curacao to have secured a ticket to next year’s second phase of tournaments.

Hosts Curacao and Jamaica both have a 1-1 win-loss record while Martinique lost its two matches, including a five-setter to the home team.

The preliminary action concludes on Sunday when Bahamas plays Martinique and Curacao entertains Jamaica. The teams placed first and second will decide the top position while the sides in third and fourth places will clash for the last ticket to the second round.

Bahamas 3, Jamaica 0

Team captain Prince’tanique Wilson led a balanced Bahamas attack with 11 points as they registered a straight-set victory (25-15, 25-14, 28-26) over an out-of-sync Jamaica in the opening match. Wilson had eight spikes and two blocks while Renaldo Knowles and Tony Simon added eight points each. For Jamaica, Ryck Webb had a match-high of 14 points while Delford Morgan chipped in with 12. The Bahamians dominated their opponents in blocks (8-3) while both teams were even in service aces at 4-4.

Team captain Dellan Brown led four of his teammates in double-figures as Jamaica rebounded from its loss against Bahamas to rally past Martinique in four sets (19-25, 25-16, 25-20, 25-16) on Saturday night. Brown top-scored with 18 points while Ryck Webb contributed 17, Delford Morgan made 16 and Alwayne Easy 12 in the winning effort. Gregory Alpha led the Martinique attack with 18 points and captain David Lafaivre got 13 in the loss.

Bahamas 3, Curacao 1

Bahamas relied on the powerful duo of Endierich Rahming and Prince’tanique Wilson to defeat Curacao in four sets (25-27, 25-18, 28-26, 25-17) for its second victory on Saturday. The win secured Bahamas a ticket to next year’s second round of tournaments. Bahamas held a 13-8 advantage in blocks and 12-6 in service aces. Rahming finished with 24 points and Wilson added 21. Ebram Raphael had 14 points for Curacao and Raygid Isenia and Darwin Colina each had 12.